Difference Between 'and' and 'AND' Operators in Python

The AND and & are logical operators in Python that are used to perform different operations. The AND is a logical AND operator, and the ampersand (&) is a bitwise operator. In this article, we will explore the behavior of these operators and their differences.

AND Operator in Python

The logical AND operator in Python needs two operands. This operator returns true if both operands are true and false if either operand is false. This operator is mostly used in situations where you want to make sure that two things are true at the same time.

Example of the AND Operator

The following is an example of an AND operator in Python. In the example below, we are checking the eligibility of a person to vote. One variable has been assigned a Boolean value, and the other variable is performing a comparison operation to check if the age is above 18. Based on these values, the AND operator prints the resultant text.

age = 22
has_voter_id = True

if age >= 18 and has_voter_id:
    print("You are eligible to vote.")
else:
    print("Sorry, you are not eligible to vote.")

Following is the output of the above program -

You are eligible to vote.

The "&" Operator in Python

The &(ampersand) symbol represents the Bitwise AND Operator in Python. This operator operates over the bits. It compares the binary representation of equal-length bit patterns. If both bits in the same position are 1, the result is 1. Otherwise, it's 0.

Example of & Operator

The following is a simple example of the Bitwise AND operator. The Bitwise AND Operator compares the bits of a and b, and it returns 8 (1000 in binary) because only the third bit from the right is 1 in both numbers.

a = 10
b = 12
print(a & b)

Following is the output of the above program -

8

Difference Between AND and & Operator

In the above section, we have understood the concept and working of these two operators. In this section, we will see some differences between the AND and & operators.